THE BEYOND OBITER LAW BLOG: Law & Policy
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The Supreme Court on Thursday issued notice to the Union Government, the Bar Council of India (BCI), the University Grants Commission (UGC) and other authorities on a plea seeking the creation of a National Digital Registry for the Legal Profession of India (NDRLP), including a unique national identification number for every enrolled advocate.
The matter was heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice V. Mohan, which observed that the proposal appeared to be an innovative idea capable of being implemented through technology. The Court sought responses from the concerned authorities and listed the matter for hearing in July.
The petition has been filed by the Bar Association of India and seeks directions for the establishment of a technology-driven national registry containing verified details of advocates, including enrolment status, legal qualifications, disciplinary records and publicly accessible QR-verifiable profiles.
According to the plea, "India has approximately 1.8 million enrolled advocates, yet there is no unified, publicly verifiable, real-time national database through which litigants, courts or authorities can instantly verify an advocate's credentials. The petition contends that the present system, which relies on separate rolls maintained by State Bar Councils, lacks uniform standards and interoperability, creating opportunities for fraudulent enrolments and fake practitioners."
The plea further seeks a direction to the BCI to frame a social media and digital conduct code for advocates under Section 49 of the Advocates Act, 1961. It alleges that the increasing use of social media by lawyers has exposed a regulatory vacuum, with some advocates engaging in promotional and solicitation-related content that may be inconsistent with professional ethics and existing Bar Council rules.
During the hearing, the Bench expressed concern regarding certain content posted by individuals claiming to be legal professionals on digital platforms. Referring to professional ethics within the legal profession, the Court observed that advocates are expected to maintain high standards of conduct and remarked that those engaging in inappropriate online behaviour may not truly reflect the values of the profession.
The Chief Justice also emphasised the importance of encouraging and strengthening young members of the Bar. Noting that young lawyers in several High Courts and district courts are actively participating in constructive academic and legal discussions, the Bench observed that the future of the legal profession rests with the younger generation of advocates.
The petition additionally seeks the establishment of a digital law degree verification portal linked to BCI-approved law schools, integration of such verification with the proposed registry, constitution of a monitoring committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, and creation of a dedicated corpus by the Ministry of Law and Justice for implementation of the project.
The Court has now sought responses from the concerned authorities before considering the issues raised in the petition.